Method and machine for basing and seasoning fluorescent lamps



April 20, 1948. .1. M. CAMPBELL ,3

METHOD AND MACHINE FOR BASING AND SEASONING FLUORESCENT LAMPS Filed Feb. 7, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR .7: M ('flMPfiZL mm W ATTORNEY III, w l

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75/? ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 20, 1948 METHOD AND MACHINE FOR BASING SEASONING FLUORESCENT LAMPS John M. Campbell, Fairmont, W. Ya., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania,

Application February 7, 1946, Serial No. 646,146 7 14 Claims. (01. 316-13) This invention relates to the finishing of discharge lamps and more particularly to an improvement in the basing and seasoning thereof. The principal object of my invention, generally considered, is to reduce the manufacturing costs of discharge, and particularly fluorescent lamps, and improve and simplify manufacturing methods, by combining the operations of basing and seasoning.

Another object of my invention is to adapt a fluorescent lamp basing machine for simultaneous seasoning, by insulating the top chuck there'- of and adapting it for the application of suitable current therefrom through supported lamps, with or without heating the cathodes thereof.

A further object of my invention is to improve the machine for basing fluorescent lamps by substituting a special holding chuck, thereby protecting a, based end from overheating and adapting said machine for use with either plastic or metal bases.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an axial sectional view of a machine embodying my invention, on the line II of Fig. 5, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig.2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of one of the holding chucks on a supporting portion of the machine.v

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line IIIIII of Fig. 2, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a plan of that part of the machine fragmentarily illustratedin Figs. 2 and '3.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view on the line V-V of Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary axial section view corresponding to Fig. 1, but showing a modification.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. "7,. in the direction of the arrows.

In the past, it has been customary to base fluorescent lamps on a machine in which the top chuck, which receives a based end of the lamp, was. electrically connected to the bottom chuck, so that no potential difference could be maintained therebetween. After basing, such lamps were seasoned as a separate operation and on a different machine. Two separately-excited bell transformers were used to heat the filamentary cathodes and a 330 volt transformer was used to supply seasoning current through a ballast to the based lamp.

In accordance with my invention I combine the basing and seasoning operation, by insulating the top chuck from the bottom chuck and applying a suitable potential, such as 830 or 440 volts, through a current-limiting reactor or hi-reactance transformer to the two basing chucks which are electrically-insulated from one another. I may simplify the circuit by, in some instances,

. eliminating filament heating transformers.

Referring to the drawing in detail, like parts being designated by like reference characters, and first considering Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, there is shown one embodiment of my combined basing and seasoning machine ll, comprising a carrier or reel l2 rotatable about a nonrotatable standard 13, as by conventional indexing mechanism M which may be driven by a belt or sprocket chain l5 from a suitable motor or other prime mover,

not shown.

The carrier I2 is provided with a series of conductive upper chucks or heads l6, shown in detail in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Inv this instance, I have shown a carrier with forty-eight of such chucks, although the number may be varied if desired. Each chuck comprises a hollow generally cylindrical body portion l1, the lower edge of which is beveled as illustrated so as to flare downwardly. and of such a. diameter that it will receive the fluorescent lamp l8, with a base l9 applied thereto with the usual basing cement, not shown, with a small amount of clearance 2| therebetween, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The cylindrical body portion l1 depends from a top preferably circular portion 22, providing a projecting flange portion 23 through which supporting screws 24 extend, to a flange 25 of the machine and through spacing bushings 26.

The flange 25 is provided with a corresponding series of flared apertures 20, alined with the chucks l6. Interiorly of the cylindrical portion i1 is a smaller hollow cylindrical portion 21 which normally engages the base I 9 of the received lamp l8 and holds it in spaced relation with respect to the circular portion 22, so that the contact prongs 28 and 29 are received in but do not project beyond apertures 31 and 32 in said circular portion. The chuck I6 is provided with apertures 33 and 34 through the cylindrical portion l1 and corresponding apertures 35 and 36 through the inner cylindrical portion 21, while the circular portion 22 has a series 'of apertures 31, all of said apertures allowing for ventilation, either during heating while the base is being applied, or during cooling while the seasoning current is being passed through the lamp.

Each lamp is, in the present embodiment, held in engagement with its associated chuck l8 by a spring-supported lower chuck 38, comprising alamp-end receiving cup 88 with a shaft or rod 4| reciprocable in spaced fianges 42 and 43 of a casting 48 secured to the carrier l2, and held in resilient supporting engagement with the lamp by a spring 44 acting on a collar 48, held on said rod 4| in adjusted position, as by means or set screw 48.

A consideration of Fig. will show that onehalf of the chucks, that is, twenty-four in the present embodiment, are disposed adjacent basing fires 41, one chuck is free of heating and cooling means, while twelve' chucks are disposed between pipes 48 and 48 which are adaptedto direct cooling air thereagainst. The remaining eleven chucks are unprovided with either heating or cooling means and used for loading and unloading purposes.

It will beunderstood from a consideration 0! Fig. 1, that the fires 41, as well as the cooling means 48 and 48, are stationary, as by being supported from the standard l3 by means of a cover member 5|, along the periphery of which are mounted; a fuel gas pipe 82, the fiow from which is controlled by valve 88, to fires 41, and a compressed air pipe 84, the flow from which is controlled by valve 55, to cooling pipes 48 and 48 provided with apertures from which air 88 is directed on the chucks l8.

Depending from the inner surface of the cover member 8! are a series of strips 81, in this instance three, which support a cam 88 shaped to operate a series of mercury switches 88, applying and cutting off the seasoning current for the lamps at the proper places. This seasoning current is received from a slip ring 8|, energized in any desired manner, insulatingly supported from the inner surface of the cover member 8| by a series of depending rods 82. The slip ring 8| is engaged by a contact device 83 carrying a carbon rod 84, resiliently urged into engagement with said slip ring, so as to transmit power therefrom, through the mercury switches 59, ballast devices 85 which may be current-limiting transformers, to the 2 iron which is separated from the reel casting 81 and cylindrical casing 88 by insulation 89 and H. The 2 iron 88 is that having the upper fiange on which the chucks i6 are supported. The ballast arrangement is desirably corrected for power factor so that balancing lead and lag circuits are provided.

Reference to Fig. 6 will disclose a circuit which may be used in seasoning. Power is received from energized slip ring 8i by brush 84 and passes along line 12, line 13, through mercury switch 88, primary winding I4 of ballast device 88, and along line 15 to ground at 18. The secondary winding 11 of ballast device 85 supplies power to two lamps 18, the lower electrodes of which are grounded as indicated at 18. The other lamps are connected from the slip ring 8! to ground in a similar manner, as illustrated in this figure, and therefore need not be specifically described.

The method of making lampsinfaccordance with my invention is, therefore, to apply each lamp 18 at a location, such as designated by reference character A in Fig. 5, said lamp having applied by suitable .cement a base is to its upper end, said based end being received in one of the chucks i8 while the carrier or-reel is rotating. The lamp is finally indexed successively at location B with respect to each of the twenty-four sets of fires 41, whereby the base isfirmly secured thereto. During this basing operation, the mercury switch which controls the particular chuck is held in the position illustrated at the left hand side of Fig. l and therefore the ballast transformer 85 is deenergized and no seasoning current passes through the lamp.

Upon passing to the location C, the lamp is beyond the sets of fires 41 and starts to cool. At the next location, designated D, the lamp not only receives cooling air from the perforated pipes 48 and 48, but its mercury switch as is moved to the position shown at the right in Fig. 1, thereby energizing the ballast transformer 85 and causing a seasoning current to pass through the lamp, whereby cooling of the based end and seasoning of the lamp take place simultaneously. When the lamp reaches the position E, it passes beyond the cooling devices and the switch 59 is again moved to the position illustrated at the left of Fig. 1, thereby terminating the fiow of seasoning current therethrough and leaving the lamp in a condition 1or unloading. The operator then removes the lamp, reverses it, applies a base to the other end in a similar manner, and passes the lamp again through the machine where the second base is baked on. and the lamp cooled and simultaneously seasoned, whereupon it may be removed in finished condition.

As an alternative, both ends of each lamp may be simultaneously based, baked, and the lamp cooled and seasoned thereafter only once. This is eflected by using a machine in which the lower chucks, such as those designated 88 in Fig. l, are

formed and supported like the upper chucks, designated l8 in the same figure, only resiliently and reversed. Fires like those designated 41, and streams or cooling air, such as those designated 88, are also employed with the lower chucks.

Such an embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 in which the carrier or reel i2 corresponds with the reel l2 of the first embodiment except that the casting 40 is replaced by a series of castings 40, each of which has an outstanding guide rail 42 providing oppositely-opening grooves in which are slidably received outstanding guide flanges 48 of bottom supporting castings 88. Each casting 48 is adlustably secured to the reel l2, as by means of bolts 18 and provided with a lower flange or lug 8! through which an adjustable stop device, such as a lock-nut-carrying bolt 82, passes.

The lower flange or, web 83 of each casting 58 is formed with an upwardly-flaring aperture 84 corresponding and alined with an aperture 20 in the flange 25. Each web 88 carries a chuck l8, constructed and secured like the upper chucks i 8, except that they are disposed below rather than above the supportingparts. In order that the lower chucks IE will resiliently support associated lamps l8, and' allow for application and removal of such lamps, each web 83 has a shaft orrod 4i with which fires 41 are associated, have'corresponding fires 4'I supplied by fuel pipes 52 and 88. The latter are pivoted, as indicated at 81, and resiliently urged to the upper normal position illustrated by springs 88. This resilient mounting allows for lowering the castings 58 for application and removal of the lamps i8 The fuel pipes are supported from a stationary part 89 of the machine. Corresponding .cooling pipes are also provided, to direct air on the chucks I 6,

heated to secure both bases to their lamp, and

the lamp then cooled at both ends simultaneously while a seasoning current is passed therethrough. Except as specifically described in connection with the present embodiment, the same may correspond with the first embodiment.

From the foregoing disclosure, it will be seen that I have devised a machine which not only bakes the bases on the ends of fluorescent lamps, first on one and then on the other, or both at once, but during the operation of cooling on said machine, it simultaneously seasons the lamp, in one position or first while in one position and then in a position reversed with respect thereto, so that no separate seasoning operation thereafter is necessary. At the same time, there are used basing chucks which keep the fires from direct engagement with the bases and contact prongs, by providing individual housings around the based ends which become heated by the fires and impart heat in a controlled manner to the received based ends of a lamp or lamps. After the basing operation, said housings in the same way provide for receiving cooling air, controlling the circulation of said air to the based lamps, said chucks simultaneously functioning to transmit seasoning power to the lamps during said cooling operation.

I have found that a practice of my invention results in the [following advantages: A reduction in the amount of labor involved in handling the lamps is effected, as well'as a reduction in breakage and chipped coating. My method is also adapted to the use of safety devices and automatic final inspection may be efiected on the machine II. My method is usable, not only for hot cathode lamps, but also for those of the voltageactivated type. The metal support, joining the top and bottom chucks, acts like a starting stripe on a lamp and facilitates breakdown. My baseseasoner may also be considered as a cooling conveyor from exhaust to final test, and involves a reduction in; occupied floor space, number of operators, and amount of equipment.

Although preferred embodiments of my invention have been disclosed, it will be understood that modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of finishing a discharge lamp comprising applying a base with cement to one end thereof, supporting said lamp with its baseapplied end uppermost and protected from the direct action of fires by an individual ventilated housing, and moving said lamp so that its housed base passes first through a heat zone of gas fires to cause the cement to secure the applied base thereto, and then through a cooling zone while simultaneously directing a seasoning current therethrough.

2. The method of finishing discharge lamps comprising applying a contact-prong-carrying base with cement to one end of each lamp, fitting the base-applied end portion of each lamp uppermost in a protective housing-chuck pro- 6 vided with contact-prong-receiving. and ventilating apertures, and moving each lamp so that its protected base passes first through a heat zone of gas fires to cause the cement to secure the applied base thereto, and then through a cooling zone while simultaneously directing a seasoning current therethrough.

3. The method of finishing discharge lamps comprising applying a base with cement to one end of each lamp, supporting each lamp with its base-applied end uppermost and fitting in means for protecting it against the direct action of fires, and moving each lamp so that its protected baseapplied end portion passes through a heat zone tocause the cement to secure the applied base thereto, and then through a cooling zone while simultaneously directing a seasoning current therethrough, removing, reversing, applying a base with cement to the other end of each lamp and fitting in such protecting means, supporting each reversed lamp with said second base uppermost, moving each reversed lamp so that its protected second base-applied end portion passes through said heat zone to cause the cement to secure said second base thereto, and then through said cooling zone while simultaneously directing a seasoning current therethrough.

4. The method of finishing discharge lamps comprising applying a base with cement to each end of each lamp, supporting each lamp with its axis substantially vertical, and moving each lamp so that each basedend passes through a heat zone to simultaneously cause the cement to secure the applied bases thereto, and then through a cooling zone while simultaneously directing a seasoning current therethrough.

5. The method of finishing fluorescent lamps, each of which has an electrode at each end, comprising applying a base with cement to one end of each lamp, resiliently supporting each lamp so that its base-applied end is received in a chuck for a predetermined period of time to cause the cement to secure the applied base to the received lamp, and cooling each lamp while simultaneously directing a seasoning current between the electrodes thereof.

6. The method of finishingfiuorescent lamps, each of which has an electrode at each end, comprising applying a base with cement to, one end of each lamp, resiliently supporting so that the base-applied end is received in a conductive chuck, a wall of which is spaced from said receiving end, applying gas fires to said chuck for a predetermined period of time to cause the cement to secure the applied base to the received lamp, cooling each lamp while simultaneously directing a seasoning current between the electrodes thereof, removing, reversing, applying a base with cement to the other end of each lamp, supporting each reversed lamp with said second base received in a conductive chuck as before, applying gas fires to said chuck for a predetermined period of time to cause the cement to secure said second base thereto, and cooling each lamp while simultaneously directing a seasoning current between the electrodes thereof.

7. The method of finishing fluorescent lamps, each of which has an-electrode at each end, com prising applying a base with cement to each end of each lamp, resiliently supporting so that said base-applied ends are each received in a conductive chuck, a wall of which is spaced from the receiving end. applying gas fires to said chucks for a predetermined period of time to cause the cement to secure the applied bases to the received lamp, and cooling each lamp while simultaneously directing a seasoning current between the electrodes thereof.

8; A machine for finishing a discharge lamp comprising means for supporting said lamp with an end uppermost to which a cement-carrying base has been applied and protected from the direct action of fires by a holding chuck, means for moving said lamp so that its protected baseapplied end portion passes through a heat zone of gas fires to cause cement to secure the applied base thereto, and means for then moving said lamp through a cooling zone while simultaneously directing seasoning current therethrough. Y

9. A machine for finishing fluorescent lamps comprising a rotatable carrier with a series of chucks disposed around its periphery and apertured to receive contact prongs of such lamps and serve as housings over the lamp ends to protect the bases from direct contact by gas fires, a series of resilient supports therebeneath for holding lamps so that ends to which cementcarrying bases have been applied are received within said chucks, means for rotating said carrier, means for directing gas fires on said chucks to. cause received bases to be cemented to associated lamps, means for cooling said chucks and the based lamp ends received therein, and means for simultaneously passing seasoning current through said lamps while being cooled.

10. A machine for finishing fluorescent lamps comprising a rotatable carrier having a structural member at its top and insulated therefrom, said structural member presenting an out standing flange formed with a series of apertures, a corresponding series of chucks supported on said flange and alined with said apertures. a series of resilient supports therebeneath for holding lamps so that base-applied ends thereof are received in said chucks, means for rotating said carrier, means for directing gas fires on said chucks to cause said applied bases to be ce-; mented to their lamps, means for cooling said chucks and the based lamp ends received therein, and means for simultaneously passing seasoning current from the chucks through said lamps to the resilient supports while said lamps are being cooled.

11, A machine for finishing fluorescent lamps comprising a standard, a carrier rotatable thereabout, said carrier having a hollow cylindrical outer wall portion, a structural member insulated therefrom and presenting a peripheral flange formed with a series of apertures, a series of chucks, one for each aperture, secured to said flange, a series of resilient supports carried by the lower portion of said hollow cylindrical wall member for holding lamps with their based ends received within said chucks, means for rotating said carrier, means for directing gas fires on some of said chucks to cause received bases to be cemented to associated lamps, means for cooling another group of said chucks and based lamp ends received therein, and means for simultaneously passing seasoning current through the lamps which are being cooled, said means comprising a cover member mounted on top of said standard, a cam supported therefrom, mercury switches, one in each chuck circuit and disposed beneath said cam, a slip ring supported from said cover, and a lamp seasoning contact device on said carrier and engaging said slip ring, whereby rotation of said carrier energizes a seasoning circuit through a lamp only when its chuck is being cooled.

12. The method of finishing discharge lamps comprising applying a base with cement to each end of each lamp, supporting each lamp with its axis substantially vertical and its bases protected from the direct action of fires by individual ventilated housings, and moving each lamp so that each housed base passes through a heat zone of gas fires to cause the cement to simultaneously secure the applied bases thereto, and then through a cooling zone while simultaneously directing a seasoning current therethrough.

13. A machine for finishing discharge lamps comprising a series of chucks supported for revolution about an axis, a series of resilient supports therebeneath and movable therewith for holding lamps so that base-applied ends thereof are received in said chucks, means for revolving said chucks about said axis, means for directing gas fires on said chucks to cause said applied bases to be cemented to their lamps, means for cooling said chucks and the based lamp ends received therein, and means for simultaneously passing seasoning current through said lamps between the chucks and the resilient supports while said lamps are being cooled.

14, A machine for finishing fluorescent lamps comprising a series of chucks mounted for revolution about'an axis, a series of resilient supports below said chucks and movable therewith for holding lamps with their based ends received within said chucks, means for causing said chucks to revolve about said axis, means for directing gas fires on some of said chucks to cause received bases to be cemented to associated lamps, means for cooling another group of said chucks and based lamp ends received therein, and means for simultaneously passing seasoning current through the lamps being cooled, said means comprising mercury switches, one in each chuck circuit, and means for operating said switches upon revolution of said chucks, whereby a seasoning current is directed through each lamp only when its chuck is being cooled.

JOHN M. CAMPBELL.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Dat Number e Loebe May 1930 

